As you can probably tell, I'm not scrapping my Project Life layouts in any order. I'm just going with whatever speaks to me at the time.

Most of my photos for week 22 were square and I had Instagrammed them so this template was perfect for the week! Especially since I didn't have to edit them - just drag and drop, and add journaling. My kind of layout. :)

Looking back on this week, I'm sooooo glad it's over. The countdown to the end of school was in full swing, Emily was about to drop (and did!) from exhaustion, and Libby's schedule was nuts with school field trips to end 8th grade and getting her braces off. Whew! Glad it's in the past.

School is out! You have no idea how incredibly relieved those three words make me. What a stressful year it was for both of the girls! They both really need some time off and time spent just being teenagers - friends, sleepovers, trips to the mall, the beach, vacation, good books, boyfriends, and lots of ice cream.

I'm increasingly unhappy with the amount of academic stress the school systems put on our kids. Emily's been taking college courses since she was a sophomore and her finals "week" lasted a month - AP exams followed by two or three finals per class in most classes. CRAZY. And just too much pressure. It's not necessary and I certainly don't think that turning our kids into academic/AP/robots at 15 is going to help them succeed in life.

Unfortunately, we're stuck in this system that pushes them at such an early age that they run out of classes to take other than AP classes. For example, Libby's been taking high school math classes since 7th grade. Andrew was placed in a high school math class this past year in 6th grade and I pulled him. It's too much. Too much pressure, too much stress. It's bad enough that he'll have to start this year in 7th grade, simply because there's nothing else to take. They push them so fast and so hard in elementary school that they don't have a choice.

We're a family who places a lot of importance on academics, reading, life-long learning, and celebrating scholastic achievements. BUT. There comes a point when enough is enough.

I'm at that point. Can you tell?

How about some project life to celebrate a break from all of that?!

I'm still totally inspired by the new Big Shot Templates (you can find them here and here) that were released last week. I love being able to shift the focus of a layout simply by having an enlarged photo. I also used a brand-new kit this week - Stampin' Up! Happy Times Edition.

Another reason I love the Big Shot Templates is that they give each page just a bit more of a clean and simple feel. And you know that's totally me!

Even with a very colorful page full of photos, the page still feels clean and linear. LOVE that!

And hey, now that school's out and I don't have all that second-hand stress from the kids' stress, maybe I'll find more time for scrapbooking and blogging. We'll see.

One of the things I miss about doing project life with physical products is the ability to add inserts easily. I still do with digital but it just doesn't give me the same feeling or the same effect as adding a large photo as an insert.

Until now! Because the Big Shot Templates are here! I am so.freaking.excited!

I am more motivated to get pages done than I've been in months!

And while I'm showing off one gorgeous daughter, I have to show off the other.

Spring activities and end-of-the-year school activities are in full swing! Or more like, I'm on a roller coaster that doesn't end for another three weeks so I'm just holding on and trying to make it through to the other end.

I've been making layouts, though! I always find time for that. :)

Here's just a few. The others are mostly themed layouts for Emily and I'll post those separately.

ISSMA Contest is an Indiana band/orchestra competition that both Andrew's and Libby's classes participate in.

Just a fun layout showing Andrew's cubing love.

A little intro to Andrew's first year of middle school.

And wow, our backyard does not disappoint in the spring! The colors and the vibrancy totally make up for the dull, dreary, dark days of winter.

Real life has hit me like a ton of bricks these past couple of months (both good and bad) and so scrapbooking just isn't happening much. I made this layout a month ago but hadn't had time to blog it and now that I look at it, it's making me just a littttttttttle bit crazy. UGH. I hate that. I made a bunch of my own cards from Becky's Project 52 kit this week and, while I love doing that, it was just a bit too matchy-matchy.

But. You know what?

It's done and my kids sure don't care how well-designed it is, so I'm not fixing it. That's the point of Project Life. Do it, don't fret about it, and move on.

So there you have it.

Week 9 had a lot of crappy stuff happening and a lot of good stuff happening. The first two photos include Andrew and the crazy puppy snuggling and a video game that my kids got me hooked on (What??? I know! I don't play games. But it was a nice distraction when Libby ended up in the hospital. It's called Disney Tsum Tsum and I can't stop playing it.)

The journaling and the hidden photo describe Libby's trip to the ER and our car saga.

And the bottom row of photos include the fun stuff because I just have to focus on the positive during weeks like this. I went to court with my hubby and had so much fun. I hadn't seen him in action since we were in law school which seems totally crazy but it was great to watch him. Afterwards, the judge joked around with me which was hilarious and made it even more fun.

And finally, the right car arrived! (The car company sent the wrong car and we had to do the three-hour roundtrip twice.) Which is why there's a margarita photo. ;)

I've made no secret over the years about being Cathy's biggest fan. Being able to work with her designs while on the Designer Digitals CT was one of the best perks of that job and now having her designs in Becky's Project Life shop is just the best!

I made a quick layout this weekend with her kit but it's just the beginning. I have a feeling that I'll be using her products all the time now. Love the colors, love the font, love the wood veneer embellishments, and really love the clean and simple design.

I'll be back in a day or two with a Beth update and with some fun college pics from a trip Emily and I took over spring break.

The kids are on Spring Break and I couldn't be happier! We really need a break from schedules and homework and stress. So here's to sleeping in, watching movies, reading books, and a 4-day roadtrip!

Week 8 was such a fun week to document, mainly because of the new Heidi Swapp Overlay Value Kit! I absolutely love that many of the new kits come with stickers and overlays, and word art. So much fun! This kit has a lot of fun colors in it but I focused on just the pink and black to make this layout more cohesive.

I added text to most of the photos this week. One of my favorite ways to document the week.